Who We Are

Leadership Team

Stanford Thompson

Founder and Executive Director
Stanford is a musician and educator who is passionate about using music for social action and serves as the Founder and Artistic Director for the El Sistema-inspired program, Play On, Philly! and the Chairman of El Sistema USA. He also serves on the boards of the Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Philadelphia chapter of the American Composers Forum, and as Chairman of The Curtis Institute of Music Alumni Council. He regularly contributes to the communities of TED, League of American Orchestras, and El Sistema-inspired initiatives around the world. Trained as a professional trumpeter, Mr. Thompson has performed and soloed with major orchestras around the world while actively performing chamber music and jazz. Stanford is a native of Atlanta, GA and holds degrees from The Curtis Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory’s Abreu Fellows Program. Visit his site www.stanfordthompson.com to learn more.

Julia Durkin

Operations Director
Julia holds a Master of Public Administration from the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University. Prior to joining POP, she served as Operations Director for Senator Bob Casey’s 2012 reelection campaign. As a bassoonist she studied with Shirley Curtiss and performed in chamber ensembles at Settlement Music School. In addition to her professional work, Julia serves on the board of the Jubilee School.

Victoria Harrison

Program Director
Victoria is devoted to work that combines her three loves: kids, music, and education. Her diverse background includes degrees in Engineering and Education--from Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Pennsylvania respectively--and two years with the international experiential education program, Up With People. In addition, she has background in both instrumental and vocal music and currently serves as the Children's Choir Director at St. Matthew's Baptist Church. She has also served on the Mastery Charter Schools Board of Trustees and Parent Advisory Council.

Administrative and Site Staff

Patty Delany

Executive Assistant and Office Manager
Patty has spent the majority of her career focused on helping nonprofits reach new audiences, connect with their current community and organize to reach their goals. Whether volunteering at Abington Friends School or planning conferences for the Philadelphia Area Council for Excellence, she excelled at engaging communities of like-minded people to work together towards one purpose. Most recently, she served as Executive Assistant to the President and Assistant Secretary to the Board of Directors at Forest Incentives. Patty and her husband have two fabulous children; seeing them develop into successful and confident young adults inspires her to help other children experience the same advantages in life.

Elizabeth Kubiak

Development and Communications Associate
Elizabeth started her career in the nonprofit world while attending the University of Pennsylvania; one summer she tried her hand at face-to-face fundraising and never looked back. During her tenure she had the privilege of campaigning for Children International, Plan International and CARE, which provided an excellent perspective of how generous her fellow Philadelphians can be. Other nonprofit experience includes the Office of the Secretary of the University of Pennsylvania, The Benefit Bank and the Walnut Street Theater. Most recently, she worked in marketing and development at Federation Early Learning Services.

Jessica Zweig

Site Director, St. Francis de Sales School
Jessica recently moved from New York City where she played clarinet with the Chelsea Symphony and worked as the Program Manager for the Harmony Program, which was featured with POP in the documentary Crescendo: The Power of Music. She received her BA and MA of Music from the University of Maryland School of Music. Prior to New York City, Jessica taught music at the Sheridan School in Washington,DC and was the Artistic Director of All Points West Chamber Music Ensemble.

Alexandra Graham

Site Director, Freire Charter Middle School
Alexandra has been a flutist since elementary school and brought her love of music with her to the many nonprofits for which she has volunteered. After completing her degree in Music Management from Berklee College of Music, she went on to work with AmeriCorps VISTA encouraging at-risk student to complete their education and connect with their community. She accomplished this through teaching flute and music theory, arranging service-learning opportunities for her students and raising funds to help students cover college related expenses. Since moving to Philadelphia, she has been volunteering with Girls Rock Philly assisting with the organizing of their camp week and teaching piano.

Ryan Crump

Site Director, POP Academy
Ryan's musical background ranges from jazz drumset at The University of the Arts, to orchestral percussion and rudimental drumming at the University of Delaware, to a local and national performing background with indie/rock bands Juston Stens & The Get Real Gang and LOUDS. He holds a degree in Music Management from the University of Delaware, where he is currently pursuing his MBA, and a certification in Nonprofit Development from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Ryan’s education and background in many styles of music and his study of elementary music education inspired him to build a community of drummers with diverse backgrounds who support the music and education community in Philadelphia, Philly Drum Project, which he founded in 2012.

Chrysyn Harp

POP Symphony Orchestra Music Director
Chrysyn Harp is an international chamber and orchestral violist performing in Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, France, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Hungary and Russia. Chrysyn received her Bachelors of Music degree from the Mannes College of Music, where she studied with Lillian Fuchs and Karen Ritscher, and her Masters of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York at Purchase, where she was a graduate fellow and student of Ira Weller. While studying at Yale University, she received her Masters of Music Degree where she was the teaching and faculty assistant to Jesse Levine. Chrysyn began her teaching career under the tutelage of Roberta Gaspari of the East Harlem Violin Program, and later taught in the School District of Philadelphia. She has performed with many orchestras including the Norwalk Symphony, New Haven Symphony, Waterbury Symphony, Erie Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the Gateways Festival Orchestra. Chrysyn has also been a featured soloist in the St. Lucia Jazz Festival and Carifest in Barbados. She is currently a member of the violin/viola faculty at the Settlement Music School in Philadelphia.

Michael Pechter

POP Emerging Artist Collective Director
A native of New Jersey, Michael Pechter began his musical life on the drum kit. While adding piano and guitar to his repertoire, he continued to study jazz at Rutgers University under Stanley Cowell. Discovering an interested in education, Michael studied elementary education at Rider University while continuing to compose, record and perform his own music. After moving to Philadelphia, he became involved with Rock to the Future, another non-profit dedicated to music education, before finding a home at Play On, Philly! While teaching, Michael leads and performs with an ensemble for which he composes. He is also the founder of a local group dedicated to home audio production and teaches classes on the recording process in collaboration with the Weathervane Music organization and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Kyleen Shaw

Site Manager, St. Francis de Sales School
A graduate of Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater, Kyleen has used her skills in a number of different fields, from the recording industry to advertising. Fresh out of college, she began working for the acclaimed hit-makers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff at Philadelphia International Records. After an unforgettable two years at PIR filled with event planning and office management, she accepted a position with Greater Philadelphia Marketing Corporation, now Visit Philadelphia, to manage to their multicultural branding campaign, Philly 360®. There, she conducted celebrity interviews with artists like Robin Thicke and Chrisette Michele, developed web content and maintained relationships with local organizations like The Recording Academy. Today, Kyleen is back to fully pursuing her true passion—being an artist! She has performed at venues such as Warmdaddy’s and the Philadelphia Clef Club, and is very active in musical theater having performed in productions of Cabaret, Children of Eden and HAIR.